World Molecular Imaging Congress - World Molecular Imaging Congress 2023 Abstract Molecular imaging (MI) technologies are being used in multiple disciplines to transform our understanding of biology and pathogenesis, to drive detection to earlier and earlier stages of disease and refine therapies for nearly all human diseases. The field of MI represents a fusion of diverse scientific fields, including instrumentation physics, molecular biology, medicine, engineering and chemistry, and has a major impact on all areas of biomedicine. The World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS) embodies the field of MI as an organization dedicated to developing and promoting preclinical and clinical imaging using all modalities that have the capability of providing cellular and molecular information in living subjects. The tools and technologies supported by the WMIS, and featured at its annual meeting called the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), are changing the fields of oncology, infectious disease, neurology, cardiology, rheumatology, and endocrinology. A distinguishing feature of the WMIS is the highly-integrated, multimodal nature of its program that begins with scientific innovation and extends to patient care. As an international scientific educational organization, active members of WMIS include basic and translational scientists, clinicians, young researchers and students from a wide variety of disciplines, with a common goal of understanding human biology and the critical cellular and molecular components of disease through in vivo imaging with quantitative multimodality MI. As an annual event, the WMIC is the only comprehensive, international meeting in the field of MI. The WMIC provides a platform for a wide array of scientists and clinicians with diverse areas of expertise to interact, present, and discuss cutting- edge advances in MI, and as such the meeting attracts scientists from academia, industry, and government. The main goal of the WMIC 2023 is to explore the expanding role of Molecular Imaging and its impact on advancing in healthcare. We will accomplish this by the following aims of this proposal: 1) presenting the latest advances and applications of MI; 2) improving the understanding of biological processes and using the gained insights to develop tools that help us to better prevent, detect and treat disease; and 3) Bring together an international community to promote and expand the use of MI to build a thriving scientific community that fosters innovation through the creation of an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce. We work diligently to secure travel funds for promising young scientists, post-doctoral and graduate students, to attend the meeting and to bring their innovative studies to the meeting and are committed to supporting young investigators, as they drive innovation in the field and apply MI in the clinic. The funds from this R13 will cover costs to support travel and attendance for the most promising young investigators, at the graduate and postdoctoral levels, especially encouraging women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities, enabling them to attend the WMIC in Prague, Czech Republic on September 5 – 9, 2023.